This website is dedicated to the past History of Deptford. If you have any stranger than fiction stories about Deptford I would welcome your input. This may include stories of the people, the places still here or long gone, the characters, the war years, ghost stories and haunted places, ancient buildings and bygone memories, long forgotten.
You can contact me with your stories at axelgs1@yahoo.co.uk

Saturday, 18 August 2012

A Deptford correspondent tells a remarkable story. Three months ago a couple of rooms in a dingy cottage in a court off the High Street were taken by a middle aged man and his daughter, a girl of about 18. Of the history of the new arrivals nothing was known in the district, and beyond the facts that the man's name was John M'Kenna, that he was out of employment, and had latterly existed on a few shillings a week which his daughter was able to earn at shirtmaking, nothing was discovered about him until a day or two ago. At the be- ginning of December the girl was seized with influenza. In a fortnight she was dead, and M'Kenna was left to shift for himself, with a mattress and a dose of influenza as the sum total of his earthly possessions. Parish relief he declined to solicit, and though the old woman of the house, who was not much better off than himself, did all she could to alleviate his distress, death from starvation and disease combined loomed near. But when things were as bad as they well could be, a fashionably attired lady called at the house and enquired for M'Kenna. On being ushered into his poverty-stricken room she fell on her knees beside the sick man's bed, and exclaimed, "Oh, Jack, forgive me" During that night and the two succeeding days the strange visitor nursed the patient with loving tenderness, and all that money could command was provided. The devoted nursing, the proper remedies for his malady, and the nourishing things got for him to restore his failing strength, between them had a beneficial effect, and M'Kenna began to mend. Now comes in the pathetic part of this remarkable story. His nurse, worn out by watching at length herself fell a victim to the influenza. She was removed to another house, and medical men gave her every attention. Pneumonia, however, the accompaniment of influenza, which is worse than the disease itself, supervened, and proved fatal on January 26, to the intense grief of M'Kenna. The fashionably dressed lady was his erring but repentant wife. They were married nearly 20 years ago, M'Kenna being at that time in business at Hammersmith. Their married life appears to have been unhappy, and the wife eloped with a common friend. America was the country to which the runaways went. They experienced, many vicissitudes, and the man at last made up his mind to try his luck at the goldfields in Lower California. Finally he and a few others obtained a concession to work a claim in Cacachiias. which proved to be one of the richest districts in the Mexican Republic. Their efforts were attended with phenomenal success, and each of them made a huge fortune. Last year Mrs. M'Kenna's lover met with a fatal accident, whereupon she sold out his interest in the mine for £65,000, and returned to England to try and find her first love. She traced M'Kenna after a weary search to his destitute abode inDeptford, and the pair were completely reconciled. M'Kenna is "a richer man today richer," at least, from a monetary view by £62,000, his wife leaving all her money to him.

This photo is of the Railway Tavern, Hamilton Street, Deptford. John Hoare kindly gave permission to me to post. It was sent to him by Richard Menari. John thought the photo was taken in the 1880s, but
having 'tweaked' the image he noticed the advertisement for the 1910 film 'Birth of a Nation' at the Scala
Theatre!

I carried out further research and found that the Scala Theater was one of a few venues allowed to loan the film in 1915. Unless the poster has been in the window for 5 years 1915 through 1916 looks about right.

The Scala Theatre had a few successful runs in its early days including “A Royal Divorce” (1906) but by 1911 it was being used as a cinema. Films provided the main fare through much of the First World War and “The Birth ofa Nation” was a big attraction in 1915.

The landlord in the 1880s was Duncan Jenkins, who was thought
to have been one of the gentlemen standing at the door. Mr. Jenkins
bought the Railway Tavern some time after the 1881
census, and sold it in 1888.

My thanks again to John Hoare and Richard Menari for allowing me to post the photos.

You can find out more about John Hoare's family at http://www.johnh.co.uk/history/railwaytavern.htm